Editing Help! (section)

==Critical reception==
===Contemporary reviews===
''Help!'' was another worldwide critical success for the Beatles.<ref name="Halpin/LTW">{{cite web|url=http://louderthanwar.com/rubber-soul-50th-anniversary-beatles-classic-album/|first=Michael|last=Halpin|title=Rubber Soul – 50th Anniversary of The Beatles Classic Album|website=[[Louder Than War (website)|Louder Than War]]|date=3 December 2015|access-date=21 January 2019|archive-date=26 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026222045/http://louderthanwar.com/rubber-soul-50th-anniversary-beatles-classic-album/|url-status=live}}</ref> Derek Johnson of the ''[[NME]]'' said that the LP "maintains the Beatles' usual high standards" and was a "gay, infectious romp which doesn't let up in pace or sparkle from start to finish – with the exception of one slow track".<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Derek|last=Johnson|title=Beatles New LP|magazine=[[NME]]|date=23 July 1965|page=3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Sutherland|editor-first=Steve|title=[[NME Originals]]: Lennon|year=2003|publisher=IPC Ignite!|location=London|page=32}}</ref> Despite the band's introduction of new instrumentation into their sound, particularly a string quartet on "Yesterday", the reviewer also wrote of the album: "It's typical Beatles material, and offers very few surprises. But then, who wants surprises from the Beatles?" While typical of the light and snappy pop music reviews at the time, according to music journalist Michael Halpin, these comments angered McCartney, who, like his bandmates, believed that artists should constantly develop through their work.<ref name="Halpin/LTW" />

In the United States, where the mainstream press had long focused on the [[Beatlemania]] phenomenon and had derided the group's music, as well as rock 'n' roll generally, the summer of 1965 coincided with the first examples of artistic recognition for the Beatles from the country's cultural mainstream.{{sfn|Gendron|2002|p=170}} Among these endorsements, [[Richard Freed]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' likened the band's songs to works from the [[European art music]] tradition. Adding to what he described as the Beatles' impact on "serious music", Freed cited musicologists and composers such as [[Leonard Bernstein]] and [[Abram Chasins]] as admirers of the group's work.{{sfn|Gendron|2002|pp=171–72, 174}} Along with several nominations for "Yesterday",{{sfn|Miles|2001|p=226}} ''Help!'' was nominated in the category of [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year|Album of the Year]] at the [[8th Annual Grammy Awards|1966 Grammys Awards]]. The nomination marked the first time that a rock band had been recognised in this category.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/grammy-awards-album-year-winners-steely-dan-426569|first=Zach|last=Schonfeld|title=The Most Ridiculous 'Album of the Year' Winners in Grammy History|work=[[Newsweek]]|date=15 February 2016|access-date=24 January 2019|archive-date=8 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108065752/https://www.newsweek.com/grammy-awards-album-year-winners-steely-dan-426569|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Retrospective assessments===
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="Erlewine AllMusic">{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author1-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=''Help!'' – The Beatles |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/help%21-mw0000189173#review |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=15 September 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430182933/https://www.allmusic.com/album/help!-mw0000189173#review |archive-date=30 April 2021}}</ref>
| rev2      = ''[[The A.V. Club]]''
| rev2Score = A<ref name="Klosterman">{{cite news |last=Klosterman |first=Chuck |author-link=Chuck Klosterman |date=8 September 2009 |url=https://www.avclub.com/chuck-klosterman-repeats-the-beatles-1798217828 |title=Chuck Klosterman Repeats The Beatles |newspaper=[[The A.V. Club]] |location=Chicago |access-date=26 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522154556/http://www.avclub.com/articles/chuck-klosterman-repeats-the-beatles%2C32560/ |archive-date=22 May 2013 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]''
| rev3Score = {{Rating|4|4}}<ref>{{cite news|last=McLeese|first=Don|date=30 April 1987|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3823417.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911152640/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3823417.html|title=CDs 'Help!' restore Beatles' intent|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|archive-date=11 September 2016|access-date=24 January 2019}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Consequence of Sound]]''
| rev4Score = B<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Young|first=Alex|url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2009/09/album-review-the-beatles-help-remastered/|title=The Beatles – Help! (Remastered)|magazine=[[Consequence of Sound]]|date=18 September 2009|access-date=25 March 2015|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402134854/http://consequenceofsound.net/2009/09/album-review-the-beatles-help-remastered/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''
| rev5Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="McCormick/Tele">{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/the-beatles/6150347/The-Beatles-Help-review.html | location=London | newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] | first=Neil | last=McCormick | title=The Beatles – Help!, review | date=7 September 2009 | access-date=21 April 2018 | archive-date=22 April 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180422072412/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/the-beatles/6150347/The-Beatles-Help-review.html | url-status=live }}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev6Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|year=2006|publisher=[[Muze]]|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]|volume=1|page=489|isbn=0-19-531373-9}}</ref>
| rev7      = [[MusicHound]]
| rev7Score = 3.5/5<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Graff|editor-first1=Gary|editor-last2=Durchholz|editor-first2=Daniel|title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide|edition=2nd|publisher=Visible Ink Press|location=Farmington Hills, MI|year=1999|isbn=1-57859-061-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/88 88]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/88}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]''
| rev8Score = 100/100<ref name="Kemp/Paste">{{cite magazine|last=Kemp|first=Mark|date=8 September 2009|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/09/the-beatles-the-long-and-winding-repertoire.html|title=The Beatles: The Long and Winding Repertoire|magazine=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|access-date=27 June 2017|page=59|archive-date=23 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023065059/http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/09/the-beatles-the-long-and-winding-repertoire.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev9Score = 9.2/10<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13428-help/ |title=Pitchfork review |work=Pitchfork |date=8 September 2009 |access-date=23 August 2011 |archive-date=12 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812154145/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13428-help/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev10Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{sfn|Brackett|Hoard|2004|p=51}}
}}
In his review of the Beatles' 1987 CD releases, for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine, Steve Pond remarked on the "unstoppable momentum" evident in the band's pre-''Rubber Soul'' albums and recommended ''Help!'' "for the relatively quiet and understated way in which they consolidated their strengths".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/with-the-beatles-251841/|first=Steve|last=Pond|title=With The Beatles|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=16 July 1987|access-date=24 January 2019|archive-date=24 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190124203858/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/with-the-beatles-251841/|url-status=live}}</ref> Writing in 2004 edition of ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'', [[Rob Sheffield]] says that the US version of ''Help!'' was "utterly ruined" through the replacement of the Beatles songs with the soundtrack music, and that, as a result, the album remained relatively overlooked. He describes the full album as "a big step forward" and "the first chapter in the astounding creative takeoff the Beatles were just beginning".{{sfn|Brackett|Hoard|2004|pp=52–53}}

[[Mark Kemp]] of ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]'' considers it to be the equal of ''A Hard Day's Night'' and cites "Help!", "Ticket to Ride" and "Act Naturally" as highlights, along with Harrison's return as a songwriter. Kemp identifies "Yesterday" as "the album's masterpiece" and a song that "set the stage for one of the most groundbreaking and innovative periods in The Beatles' career, not to mention pop music in general".<ref name="Kemp/Paste" /> [[Neil McCormick]] of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' says that the album evokes "a band in transition, shifting slightly uncomfortably from the pop thrills of Beatlemania to something more mature", with Lennon's writing increasingly autobiographical and the group's sound growing more sophisticated. McCormick concludes: "''Help!'' may not be their greatest album, but it contains some of their greatest early songs."<ref name="McCormick/Tele" />

In 2000, ''Help!'' was voted 119th in the third edition of [[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]'s book ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]''.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]|editor-first=Colin|editor-last=Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=Virgin Books|location=London|date=2000|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=60}}</ref> In 2006, it was recognised as one of the "Most Significant Rock Albums" in the ''Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History''. Two years before then, [[Tor Milde]], music critic for the Norwegian newspaper ''[[Verdens Gang]]'', ranked it at number 20 on his list of "The 100 Best Pop and Rock Albums of All Time".{{CN|date=December 2023}} In 2003, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked ''Help!'' number 332 on their list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", raising the ranking to number 331 in the 2012 update and then number 266 in the 2020 list.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://genius.com/Rolling-stone-the-500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-2003-annotated |title=Rolling Stone – the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2003) |access-date=30 April 2021 |archive-date=24 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424152519/https://genius.com/Rolling-stone-the-500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-2003-annotated |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Rolling Stone">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/the-beatles-help-19691231|title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time: the Beatles, 'Help'|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=31 May 2009|access-date=31 July 2012|archive-date=5 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705011818/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/the-beatles-help-19691231|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|date=2020-09-22|title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/|access-date=2021-02-17|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|archive-date=22 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922163403/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/|url-status=live}}</ref>

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